Ira Winderman: Instead of bluster, Heat need blueprint from Riley

MIAMI — There is something to be said about allowing the emotion of the moment to pass before plowing ahead into the future.

From that perspective, Miami Heat President Pat Riley allowing himself time to collect his thoughts makes sense, in light of what might have been going through his mind amid back-to-back playoff home humiliations at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, his team hardly playing the part of, “Hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest …” blah, blah, blah.

Recall, a decade ago it was a highly visible challenge to LeBron James to persevere in the wake of that season’s NBA Finals loss, “if you’ve got the guts.” A month later, LeBron was gone.

Flash forward then to last year, when Riley questioned offering an extension to Jimmy Butler “unless you’re somebody who’s going to be there every night,” also telling Butler to “keep your mouth shut” when it came to bombast not backed up.

To their credit, less than 48 hours after one of the lowest points in franchise history, 10 of the 15 Heat players under standard contract agreed to face the music in media interviews, as did coach Erik Spoelstra.

But none, including Spoelstra, were positioned to state policy from a personnel standpoint of what comes next.

It doesn’t mean that Spoelstra doesn’t have input (he has a lot) and it doesn’t mean that Nick Arison doesn’t set financial parameters (he sets plenty), only that in the singular-voice world of the Heat, Riley is the personnel voice.

So, shortly, Riley will take a familiar perch and will offer uniquely Riley perspective.

At this point, there is no need to look back.

While he certainly could be asked to answer for the Terry Rozier trade and its crippling impact on draft-pick availability going forward, at this point, what’s the point? What’s done is done.

Similarly, there are the present-moment realities of the Heat further deferring the pick owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder to this year’s draft (No. 15), when that obligation could have been off the Heat’s draft ledger by 2023 (instead of the pick of Jaime Jaquez Jr.). Again, what’s done is done.

But if Riley’s session opens with anything along the lines of, “What this team needs is a full training camp together …,” then someone needs to pull the YouTube plug.

Because this team needs a lot more than the continuity provided by a training camp.

Bam Adebayo said as much during his exit interview.

“At the end of the day, I want to win,” Adebayo said when asked what needs to change. “That’s more of a Pat Riley question. I hope you can ask that question to him and he doesn’t blow you off.”

Tyler Herro also said as much.

“I want to win and be known as a winner,” Herro said. “We have to do some things this summer to help put us back in that position.”

Amid speculation of Riley’s clock winding down in his stewardship role, it has been years since he has been on the clock to this degree, his team with only one playoff victory over the last two years.

Based on how last year’s ultimatum to Butler paralyzed the franchise for months, the bravado could prove muted this time around. And that’s fine, be it Riley, at 80, taking a more measured approach.

But, as with, “Hardest working, best conditioned, most professional …” words only carry so much weight in the absence of results.

But here is what needs to be answered:

— With Tyler Herro’s extension window to open in October and Adebayo already with an extension, is committing to what eventually will be $100 million a season to those two prudent?

— Based on what Andrew Wiggins showed since his Feb. 6 acquisition, can you justify confidence in Wiggins, Herro and Adebayo as a three-player core going forward next season?

— Locked into what could be a lottery pick next season, and with each ensuing first-round pick from 2027 to 2029 encumbered, would any thought be given to a soft reset to best reset the future?

— Based on being in the luxury tax this past season with a 37-45 result and faced with the potential consequences of the onerous repeater tax, could justification be offered to Nick Arison to risk the tax next season?

— With the team’s offensive rating 21st or worse in each of the past four seasons, should there be thought of a change in that approach or perhaps the addition of an offensive coordinator?

Will all be asked? Based on the structure of such made-for-YouTube internal programming, probably not.

But this time around, the opening statement for the offseason has to be about more than bluster. It has to be about a blueprint.

IN THE LANE

HIS VIEW: Speaking on the Inner Court podcast, former Heat guard Victor Oladipo offered his thoughts on where the Heat go from here. “You have to make a decision: Is Tyler Herro a number-one option? Is Bam Adebayo a number-two option? And if not, can I get a number-three option in here, or can I get a one option in here?” Oladipo said. “You either need to figure out if you need a third option. Is Andrew Wiggins that, or do I need to go find someone else that better fits that mold? Or is Bam really my third option and Tyler my second option and I have to go find the number-one option? That’s what I think Miami has to decide in this offseason, is what roles is Tyler and Bam playing in my future. Are they my guys or are they just a piece of the puzzle? If they’re your guys, then you need to kind of see what happens next year with this mob, because this mob kind of came together halfway through the year and really didn’t have time to establish an identity.”

NOT FIRED (SORT OF): No, the Phoenix Suns did not fire former Heat forward James Jones as general manager, as some had forecast after this season’s 36-46 crash and burn. Only, they sort of did. Jones no longer holds either of his previous two Suns titles of president of basketball operations or general manager. Instead, Jones in Phoenix now will go by the nominal title of senior advisor. With  Brian Gregory now Phoenix general manager, the Suns in a release announced Jones will “remain involved with front office decisions, including advising and working closely with Gregory on team and personnel decisions.” In other words, no longer a direct Heat-related line for Pat Riley to the Suns’ front office (which might have come in handy as Kevin Durant‘s future is sorted out).

EMOTIONAL MOMENT: Closing night for the Heat on Monday featured an emotional moment between Heat center Kevin Love and former Cavaliers teammate Tristan Thompson, coming the day after Love announced the passing of his father, former NBA player Stan Love. “I told him, ‘You just gained a guardian angel to watch over you and your beautiful family,'” Thompson told Cleveland.com. “I told him I’m here for him — whatever he needs. If he wants to vent, scream, cry together, I’m here. I’m here any time, any place. I told him that his dad is proud of him. He is watching over him each and every day. He’s done so many things to help his family, change everyone’s life for generations to come.”

FAMILIAR VOICE: In the wake of the Cavaliers’ record-setting thrashing of the Heat to close out that series, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said it was a group text from former Heat forward Max Strus that implored the team not to let go of the rope up 3-0. According to Mitchell, the text said, among other things, “Take care of business so we can get some rest until the next round, take all the advantages we can get.”

NUMBER

8. Consecutive home playoff losses by the Heat, a franchise record and two losses shy of the NBA record of 10 held by the Detroit Pistons (through these playoffs). The Heat’s last home playoff victory was Game 3 of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. The Heat then lost their final two home games of that series, both home games in the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, both home playoff games in last year’s first round against the Celtics and the two home playoff games this season against the Cleveland Cavaliers.